SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS PART OF ANTI-DUI DRIVE.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

Although Los Angeles has bucked a statewide trend toward more alcohol- related accidents, city officials warned Wednesday that collisions and injuries could increase over the New Year's holiday weekend.

Through Nov. 30, there were 15 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in Los Angeles - five of them in the San Fernando Valley - compared with an average annual death toll of 37 over the past five years, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Statewide, alcohol-related traffic deaths increased from 1,233 in 2000 to 1,445 in 2003. In the first six months of this year, there were 944 DUI-related deaths in California, putting the state on track to exceed the 2003 totals.

``This is a great example of the work of a public information campaign, the work of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and also a stepped-up enforcement campaign by the LAPD,'' Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn said at a news conference at LAPD headquarters.

Police Chief William Bratton said the LAPD will deploy additional DUI task forces over the New Year's weekend and set up sobriety checkpoints to catch people driving while intoxicated.

``Despite our best efforts, we still have incidents that take lives,'' Bratton said.

James Nash, [phone]

james.nash(at)dailynews.com